Category: kmiz-local-news

Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

No injuries were reported following a structure fire in North Columbia Friday.

According to Columbia Fire Department Public Information Officer Skyler Clark, fire crews were called to the 1600 block of Mores Blvd. for a residential structure fire.

At the scene, crews found a barn on fire.

An ABC 17 News reporter at the scene saw at least one CFD fire engine, two CFD vehicles and a Boone Health ambulance.

Fire crews were also seen going up into a ladder truck to monitor the fire.

“They’re getting an aerial view to see if there’s any hot spots, to see if there’s any smoldering anything that could potentially reignite and make sure that the structure is safe while investigations are underway,” Clark said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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Marie Moyer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 58-year-old Warrensburg man was seriously injured Friday evening after being hit by a car in Johnson County.

According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report, at around 6:30 p.m. Friday, a 57-year-old man driving a 1996 Dodge Ram was heading east on E Gay Street in Warrensburg when he hit a pedestrian.

The man who was hit was transported to Western Missouri Medical Center. The driver was unharmed.

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Euphenie Andre

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A group of students gathered at the University of Missouri’s Black Culture Center Saturday night to honor Concerned Student 1950, the student organization that led the 2015 protests over racial discrimination on campus.

Several attendees said they came to pay respect to the organizers who pushed for major change at the university, and to learn more about Mizzou’s history.

Aleena Simons, a first-year sophomore, said the gathering was important because, in her view, the university has not fully considered the perspectives of Black students.

“Mun Choi has shown to not really take into perspective the Black students’ opinion,” Simons said.

A sign displayed at the event included a quote from the documentary Concerned Student 1950: “Racism lives on Mizzou’s campus and so do we.” it was signed with signatures and messages from students.

Matikah Cole, a freshman, said “Outside of Black Mizzou, there are spaces where it’s still kind of like I feel out of place, if that makes sense.”

A decade ago, students camped out on campus demanding action, saying racial inequalities had been ignored for years. Students of color reported being called racial slurs, discriminated against, and harassed both physically and verbally.

Back then, protest leaders called on administrators to make meaningful changes, and many students at the anniversary event said some of those concerns still remain today.

“For me as a film studies and political science major, it’s been a little difficult,” Simons said. “I don’t really see as many people of color in the classroom, and so it’s hard if there’s a group project or something I’m kind of always the last person to find a partner,” Simons said.

Over the past decade, Freshman applications have risen 64% to 27,290, and freshman enrollment has grown 46% to 6,033. Overall graduation rates have also improved, with the four-year rate climbing 16 percentage points to 64% and the six-year rate rising 8 points to 77%, according to University spokesperson Christopher Ave.

For Black students, the four-year graduation rate has increased nearly 16 points to 45%, while the six-year rate has grown almost 9 points to nearly 64% since fall 2015. Research at the university has expanded as well, with the value of proposals increasing 138% to $1.9 billion, and the annual operating budget has grown 70% to $3.9 billion.

While some progress has been made, many students said concerns from that time still linger today.

Amaya Morgan, president of the Legion of Black Collegians, said the event was about reflection and moving forward.

“It’s important to have those things [10-year anniversary commemoration] because we’re facing similar situations as in 2015, so we want to be able to give space to make sure everybody’s kind of seeing the place that they were at, see where we are at right now, and how we can all appreciate that and move forward,” Morgan said.

The anniversary comes the same year the university made headlines for canceling the Legion of Black Collegians’ “Black 2 Class Block Party” after administrators took issue with the event’s name.

At that time MU President Mun Choi responded, “The University of Missouri fosters a non-discriminatory campus environment. When holding events using University facilities, student organizations must avoid excluding individuals based on race. The name of the ‘Black 2 Class Block Party’ proposed by LBC suggested such exclusivity. For that reason, the decision was made that the event as described would not be held on campus.”

Cole said she was disappointed by the cancellation.

“It’s just really disappointing. I feel like it would have been a really good way to make Black students feel welcomed on campus, especially freshmen,” she said.

Students are calling on the university to acknowledge and address the racial divide on campus.

“I think for me, in order to feel seen by the university is him actually acknowledging that there is a racial divide on campus. There is a race issue on campus that has solutions that aren’t difficult as they are made out to be,” Simons said.

University spokesperson Christopher Ave said the university does not tolerate discrimination or harassment.

“All reported cases are investigated, and individuals who violate our policies or the law are held accountable. Potential consequences for those who commit such violations include being trespassed from campus, expelled from the university and charged with a crime.” Ave said.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Protesters against the Trump Administration are now using body cams to record interactions with counter-protesters.

Boone County Democrats protest at the intersection of West Broadway and Stadium Boulevard every Saturday from 10:30-11:30 a.m. During the last protest on Nov. 22, a counter-protester walked through and appeared to be recording other protesters and using curse words.

Since then, protest organizers have increased safety measures, including using body cams to record any situations like the one from November.

Steve Muller said people were concerned about safety after the incident.

“We don’t want anybody to get hurt or anything like that,” Muller said. “The way that came across when he was out here, it was very intimidating and some people felt threatened.”

Only protest leaders, like Muller, will wear a body cam. Muller said the camera only records when turned on.

An ABC 17 reporter was at the protest Saturday morning and didn’t see any counter-protests.

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Alison Patton

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Fulton is raising recycling prices by $14 because of higher processing and transportation costs, according to a Facebook post from the city.

Residents currently pay $2.07 per recycling bin a month, but that will jump to $16.20 starting in January.

“Even with this adjustment, Fulton’s recycling rate and our other utility rates remain lower than those in many surrounding communities,” the post says. “We are committed to keeping services as affordable as possible while maintaining the level of quality our citizens expect.”

Under the new fee, residents will be paying about $194 a year.

Residents can opt out of the recycling program by using the online form, or by calling the utilities billing department at (573)592-3111.

The solid waste department will pick up recycling carts after the form has been processed.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A 16-year-old boy was flown to University Hospital on Friday night after he was seriously injured in a crash on Route A in Osage County, according to a crash report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The report says the Russellville teenager drove a 2011 Dodge 1500 northbound when it went off the right side of the road, hit a tree, overturned and hit a fence.

The teenager was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, according to the report.

The truck was totaled.

MSHP reports do not name those involved in crashes.

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Mitchell Kaminski

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Since March, members of the Boone County Democrats have spent their Saturday mornings protesting.

But after an incident in late November, the group is now emphasizing peaceful engagement and safety.  

The group began protesting in front of the offices of U.S. Sens. Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt, later moving to a location near Broadway and Stadium Boulevard in Columbia for greater visibility. The size of the crowds have varied. Last weekend, seven people stood on Stadium Boulevard, but Boone County Democrats Chair Deborah Finley says the crowds have been as large as 75. 

“What we’re protesting is the ability to speak out,  to see people and have people see us so they can see that there are people that are out there that’s not agreeing with what’s happening and that they feel free to speak up as well,” Finley told ABC 17 News. 

Finley said the response has generally been positive, though the group has experienced several incidents, including one where a full water bottle was thrown and struck a protester in the head.

“We get a lot of honks and waves. We can see that many, many people agree. We’ll have a few people who will drive by in big trucks and blow smoke on us,  or they’ll yell at us from their cars,” Finley said. “We’ve only had two instances where somebody actually came through the line and started hassling the protesters.” 

One of those incidents was caught on camera on Nov. 22. Video ABC 17 News obtained video showing a man going up to protestors while recording video on his cellphone before getting into an argument with a woman about illegal immigration. After another protestor held up a sign in his face and he slapped the sign out of her hand, which landed in the street. 

The man then continued to walk down the row of protestors, calling the protestors “ignorant” and “stupid” before putting away his phone. 

“You’ll notice in the video that you saw posted, it’s a lot of older people,” Finley said. “So this was a young man coming through a crowd of  older people, intimidating and harassing them.” 

 The incident prompted the group to reflect on its protest guidelines and update them to “support safety and accountability at upcoming events.” 

“After this last incident, we decided to sit down and really explore more closely how we could ensure that we keep our people safe. It’s important that people have the ability  to speak up and to protest,  but not at the point where they could become in a dangerous situation,” Finley said. “So we decided to write up specific guidelines for the protesters that says do not engage in any manner whatsoever.  I’m sure when you saw the video, you could see people were trying to argue with him.  We’re telling them do not engage at all.” 

According to Finely, the group notifies Columbia police the morning of every demonstration, with each event being logged with an incident number, which they keep on hand if any issue arises.

In an email to members, Finley also asked protestors to avoid engaging with counter-protesters, back off the sidewalk if someone approaches looking for confrontation, and not to block drivers’ view with signs and flags at the center of intersections. 

Other measures include adding a third “peacekeeper” to each rally and scheduling additional training sessions to ensure volunteers are well prepared to support safety. The training is done locally with another session set at Wilkes Boulevard Church on Dec. 21. 

Lead organizers will also be wearing body cameras to document any future incidents for “transparency and protection.”

“We will have body cameras on our protest leaders. And we have two protest leaders. We’re now going to establish a third leader who will be specifically trained in peacekeeping,” Finley said. “Some of us have gone to the peacekeeping training. I have not yet.  But what the peacekeeping training teaches you is how to not engage and how to deescalate a situation.  You’re going to escalate the situation. If you keep arguing with someone,  you are not going to change their minds.” 

Finley says the Nov. 22nincident was the first time police showed up at one of the protests. CPD told ABC 17 News in an email that the group “normally protests at the courthouse and that is outside CPD’s jurisdiction.” 

However, Finely said that is not the case and believes that CPD had them confused with the “No Kings” rallies at the courthouse, which many of their members also participate in.  

ABC 17 News reached back out to CPD for further comment. 

The Boone County Democrats say they plan to continue protesting through the end of the year, with more planned for next year. 

“There is no feeling of stopping them,” Finley said. “We are not going to let intimidation  make us stop  voicing our opinion.”

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Euphenie Andre

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Attorney General Catherine Hanaway on Friday warned Missourians to be vigilant on where to purchase tickets after grouping announcements for the World Cup were announced in the morning.

Argentina, Germany and the Netherlands are set to compete in Kansas City in the FIFA Word Cup next summer.

Megan McConachie with Columbia Convention and Visitor Bureau said Missouri being chosen to host games is a major accomplishment for the Show Me State.

“The World Cup is a once-in-a-lifetime event for many fans and visitors. The worldwide enthusiasm for soccer is contagious, and we can’t wait to welcome people from around the world and around our country to Missouri to experience what our destinations have to offer,” she said.

Fans hoping to buy tickets directly through FIFA on Friday are being met with a message on the website stating sales are not yet open. According to FIFA, the next opportunity to apply for tickets begins during the Random Selection Draw, which runs Dec. 11-Jan. 13.

Despite that, several third-party websites are already listing tickets for sale. On StubHub and SeatGeek, nosebleed seats for U.S. World Cup matches are starting at about $700 per ticket, with prices climbing to nearly $1,500 for seats closer to the field.

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway is urging fans to be cautious.

“With the World Cup coming to Kansas City, excitement is high and unfortunately, so is the potential for fraud,” Hanaway said in the press release. “Missourians should be able to enjoy this once-in-a-generation event without fear of being deceived. My Office will hold accountable anyone who seeks to exploit our families, and we stand ready to assist anyone who encounters suspicious activity.”

Hanaway suggested:

Buying tickets only from official sources: FIFA.com, the FIFA Resale Marketplace, or reputable, well-known platforms.

Never share personal or financial information with unfamiliar websites or sellers.

Use a credit card when buying online. Credit cards offer fraud protections that cash, checks, debit cards, and peer-to-peer apps like Cash App or Venmo do not.

Make sure the website is secure. Look for “https://” at the start of the URL and a closed-lock symbol in the address bar before entering any payment information.

Watch for counterfeit or altered tickets. Scammers may sell fake or duplicated digital tickets, so confirm the seller can verify authenticity or transfer the ticket through FIFA’s official ticketing system.

Be cautious of prices that seem too good to be true. If a ticket is far below market value, it’s likely a scam.

Before purchasing from a reseller, call the Attorney General’s Consumer Complaint Hotline at 800-392-8222 or check the Better Business Bureau for complaints or warning signs.

There is some financial relief for buyers, the Missouri Department of Revenue said that all official World Cup ticket sales are exempt from sales tax.

“It’s not often that such purchases are untaxed, but Missouri is committed to making the FIFA World Cup a success in our state,” Director of Revenue Trish Vincent said in a press release. “This exemption applies to both state and local sales tax on all tickets sold to the games through FIFA, FIFA Marketplace or as part of Official FIFA World Cup Hospitality packages.”

According to FIFA’s socioeconomic impact analysis, the tournament could generate around 185,000 full-time jobs across the U.S. and provide an estimated $10.2 billion in labor income. The report also predicts that about 3.7 million local and international fans will travel to the American host cities, bringing an economic boost worth billions to industries such as hospitality, transportation, and retail.

Some fans are choosing to stay in Columbia. Chris Miller, president and head coach of AFC Columbia said he’s already planned to host friends traveling from Wales for the event.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A pair of self-identified “urban explorers” were arrested in Mexico, Missouri, after they went into the old hospital on Thursday afternoon, according to a press release from the Mexico Public Safety Department.

The release says 18-year-olds Jacob Hayse and Jerome Hawkes, both of Hartsburg, were arrested on suspicion of trespassing. Police were called around 3:17 p.m. to the hospital building in the 600 block of East Monroe Street after cameras allegedly showed two people going into the building, the release says.

“Urban explorers” typically film content for social media websites like YouTube and TikTok that revolves around exploring abandoned buildings and areas.

“Everyone is reminded that the property is posted for No Trespassing and there are cameras on site.  Any unauthorized use of the property can lead to criminal charges,” the release says. “Residents are further reminded that people arrested / charged with a crime are simply accused of that crime and are to be considered innocent until proven guilty.”

Previous arrests for trespassing and property damage have occurred at the property.

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Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A man who was arrested Wednesday after an hour-long standoff in Callaway County was charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor.

Antonio Watson, 37, was charged with resisting arrest, failing to register as a sex offender and misdemeanor drug possession. He is being held at the Callaway County Jail on a $30,000 bond. A hearing was held on Friday.

The probable cause statement says deputies were called to a residence near Millersburg in the 4400 block of Samantha Road for a failure-to-register warrant. A person described as a witness confirmed to law enforcement that Watson lived in the area, the statement says.

Authorities arrived at 2:20 p.m. and Watson briefly opened the door eight minutes later, the statement says. Deputies shot a beanbag at the residence and he barricaded himself, court documents say. Watson came out of the building about an hour later and a deputy used a foam baton round after Watson allegedly refused to get onto his knees, the statement says.

Watson allegedly admitted to living in the trailer for four days and allegedly told deputies he thought he had seven days to update the address, the statement says.

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